A 37-year-old man from Pennsylvania has been indicted for making violent threats on TikTok against former Vice President Kamala Harris, according to a report from Fox43.
Steven Hartford is accused of posting multiple assassination threats last July, just before Harris was officially nominated as the Democratic presidential candidate to replace Joe Biden. While the indictment doesn’t name Harris directly, it specifies the threats were aimed at a woman identified as “the Democratic nominee.”
In one of the TikTok videos, which featured Harris and questioned whether she would be the next nominee, Hartford allegedly commented: “I will assassinate her if she runs for pres.” Prosecutors say the comment was made from an account with the handle “thealex13one13.”
The same account reportedly left several similar threats, including “I will assassinate her” and “5.56 waiting for her.” The phrase “5.56” refers to a type of rifle ammunition commonly used by military forces, according to the indictment.
U.S. Attorney John C. Gurganus said Secret Service investigators were able to link the TikTok account to Hartford through digital evidence.
If convicted, Hartford could face up to 10 years in prison, followed by supervised release, and a mandatory special assessment fee, which supports crime victim assistance programs.
